The sector story · 2026
One dot ≈ 401 businesses
1,443,322 classified businesses, spread across the Kingdom's cities.
By sector
Regroup them by what they do, and construction alone accounts for 502,162.
397,184
active registrations list building contractors — the single largest sector in Saudi Arabia.
A registration can list several activities, so sectors overlap. Each one is counted once per sector.
The sector race
2015
Cumulative registrations created since 2015 that were still active on 16 September 2026. Earlier years read lower because cancelled registrations drop out of the register.
01/
The giant
397,184
397,184 active registrations, 27.5% of all classified businesses. 161,955 were added in 2025 (+54.3% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 126,269. Relative to its size, Jubail is the hotspot at 2.7× the national share.
02/
The daily ritual
60,089
60,089 active registrations, 4.2% of all classified businesses. 16,226 were added in 2025 (+28.2% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 17,501. Relative to its size, Abha is the hotspot at 1.7× the national share.
03/
The movers
70,254
70,254 active registrations, 4.9% of all classified businesses. 22,988 were added in 2025 (+37% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 26,978. Relative to its size, Wadi Al-Dawasir is the hotspot at 2.6× the national share.
04/
The builders of code
25,774
25,774 active registrations, 1.8% of all classified businesses. 6,804 were added in 2025 (+28% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 15,418. Relative to its size, Dhahran is the hotspot at 3.0× the national share.
05/
The dealmakers
47,432
47,432 active registrations, 3.3% of all classified businesses. 10,248 were added in 2025 (+27.4% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 19,018. Relative to its size, Dhahran is the hotspot at 1.8× the national share.
Where each sector lives
Restaurants & food outletsColumn height: registrations by city
01 / 06
128,871
128,871 active registrations, 8.9% of all classified businesses. 27,688 were added in 2025 (+9.3% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 29,772. Relative to its size, Rabigh is the hotspot at 1.7× the national share.
02 / 06
60,089
60,089 active registrations, 4.2% of all classified businesses. 16,226 were added in 2025 (+28.2% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 17,501. Relative to its size, Abha is the hotspot at 1.7× the national share.
03 / 06
30,593
30,593 active registrations, 2.1% of all classified businesses. 8,191 were added in 2025 (+48.1% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 9,437. Relative to its size, Makkah is the hotspot at 3.6× the national share.
04 / 06
70,254
70,254 active registrations, 4.9% of all classified businesses. 22,988 were added in 2025 (+37% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 26,978. Relative to its size, Wadi Al-Dawasir is the hotspot at 2.6× the national share.
05 / 06
25,774
25,774 active registrations, 1.8% of all classified businesses. 6,804 were added in 2025 (+28% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 15,418. Relative to its size, Dhahran is the hotspot at 3.0× the national share.
06 / 06
20,087
20,087 active registrations, 1.4% of all classified businesses. 7,397 were added in 2025 (+54.4% on 2024, against +15% overall). Riyadh leads with 9,097. Relative to its size, Unaizah is the hotspot at 2.5× the national share.
Leaderboards
Fastest-growing sectors in 2025
Registrations created in 2025 vs 2024, sectors with 2,000+ businesses
Most concentrated hotspots
Sector share in a city vs nationally (one city per sector, 300+ businesses)
The biggest sectors
Active registrations listing the activity
Your sector
Figures are Alpha Consultancy's analysis of the Ministry of Commerce's open datasets on the Saudi Open Data Platform (open.data.gov.sa): the register of active commercial registrations (CRs) as of 16 September 2026.
Active CRsinclude main and branch registrations, as in the Ministry's own totals. Registered in a period counts CRs created in that period that were still active on 16 September 2026; registrations since cancelled are not in the source file, so older periods read lower than the number originally issued.
Partial quarter. The Ministry's Q3 2026 file is labelled as the quarter end but only contains registrations created up to 16 September 2026, so every figure here is as of that date and the latest quarter in the charts (marked *) is incomplete.
Sector figures cover the 1,443,322 active registrations (74.7%) that appear in the Ministry of Commerce's activity association file, which lists activities for registrations created up to 31 December 2025. Registrations created after that date are not yet classified. A registration counts once in each sector it is active in, so sectors overlap.
No individual business is identified on these pages; only aggregate counts are published.
We confirm the licence conditions for your activity, pick the right city and structure, and set the company up end to end.
